W:
www.universitybusiness.co.uk | T: @UB_UK
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY | PROMOTION: STUDENTCOM | 63
and food, helping students produce a published body of work to take to potential employers such as newspapers, magazines, publishers and broadcasting houses and become respected thought- leaders in their area of expertise. Newspaper internships used to be the
STUDENTCOM SUPPORTS NEXT GENERATION OF UK JOURNALISTS
Seventy journalists from 30 different universities are contributing to the StudentCom Digital Media Platform
F
orging a career in journalism is tough. In the early 2000s, journalism was in the top three
most popular university courses in the UK, and Fleet Street offered hundreds of internships to the most talented graduates. Times are changing. Digital media
has caused many local newspapers to close down and national newspapers to make staff redundant. Increasingly, online content is copied, tweaked and republished at the expense of quality journalism. In December the final edition of the Liverpool Post was published after 158 years; the latest in a long line of closures. In 2011, StudentCom, a leading
provider of digital media services to student accommodation in the UK, launched a simple, student-focused platform hosting articles writen by students considering a career in journalism. Since then the editorial team has continued to grow. StudentCom now receives hundreds of articles each week from current students looking to raise their personal profile, gain a readership base for their work and, ultimately, make
"My course at City University is brilliant, however I still wasn't sure about how easily I could get a job afterwards. I have now written six articles for
StudentCom which have had hundreds of readers all over the internet. I focus mainly on technology and gaming and would love to work for IGN one day. StudentCom is helping me try every aspect of journalism and I'm barely into my first year at uni!" Jamie Goss, City University
themselves more employable. Currently, StudentCom has 70 (and
growing) student contributors from universities across the UK including the University of Exeter, the University of Birmingham and Aston University, the University of Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan, the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan. Students are encouraged to write about their interests and establish their own writing style and personality. Currently StudentCom publishes articles on technology, gaming, entertainment, fashion, lifestyle
obvious route into the industry and, while competitive, there were plenty to choose from. However, asking recent graduates to work for free while paying rent is a massive barrier for recent graduates with bills to pay. The StudentCom platform offers students the opportunity to submit recent work examples while still studying and being supported by the education system, offering support on writing style and establishing leads with the best chance of publication and ultimately publishing articles that students want to read. Relevant experience, support and advice is also available to journalism students considering developing skills in copy-writing for the web, social media marketing and developing journalistic skills like interviewing. The UK still has a huge range of
academic training courses available to help and train students – organisations like the NUJ & NCTJ offer post-grad professional courses – but these organisations don’t always give journalism students the type of experience that employers need: writing to engage a reader on subject mater often controversial and working with an editor to sell magazines or, beter still, to keep website users engaged and coming back to a website. Published research from Incomes Data Services stated that 83 graduates apply for every job, so the outlook for new graduates is still tough. According to Interns Anonymous, there is no legal definition of an intern. National minimum wage law states anybody who qualifies as a worker must be paid at least £6.08 an hour (if aged 21 and over) unless their employer is a charity. Graduating with published work, an
existing readership base and a focus on dedicated subject mater can only help the newly graduated journalist. StudentCom aims to continue to support the next generation of journalists. UB
If you have any budding journalists at your university who are looking for the opportunity to raise their profiles and have their work published on the StudentCom Digital Media Platform, viewed by more than 20,000 students every day, please send an email to
info@studentcom.co.uk.
Student image:
Shuterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74